A plains hex. Noon. A crowd. Different races, different languages. No sides.All “Barbarians.”Or perhaps more politely, “Mercenaries.”

A man on a sawhorse. Well dressed. Dark hair. Grey eyes. Level… 6?

“Listen up. For those who do not know, I am Balen. Not Sir, not Lord, not Master, not General. Just Balen.”

“I have been contracted to complete a mission. I require soldiers. I am being paid well, and I intend to pay. Well.”

“This will not be an easy task – some will not survive. But the rewards are… generous.”

“I will pay 400 smuckers per head. Half in advance, half on completion. There will be… incidental rewards, in the if and when.”

“This job must be done well. It is not a task for hack and smash. Each stack will need a healer and a scout. A caster might come in handy, but will not be necessary. If you are interested, form your stacks and come forward. If you are not interested, leave the hex… now. Leave to the South, or you will be cwoaked, as normal.”

This is Sweeping Dwagon, a play-by-post eRfPG. Those interested in signing up, design your character as below, and introduce yourself to the stack.

DesignPlayer Name:Character Name: Attributes – Divide 10 points between the four attributes. Each attribute must be given between one and four points.STRENGTH (STR)INTELLECT (INT)DEXTERITY (DEX)SPIRIT (SPT)

“There will be many stacks engaged in this operation, but working separately. I alone know the entire plan, but you will be told what you need to know.”

“If you are new to this game, know this: I am Balen. I do not fail. I do not care how you came to be here – whether you popped as a Bandit in a marsh hex, or if your ruler was captured and your side ended, or if you just ran away in the heat of battle. I do not care where you go from here. I do care that you do the job I pay you to do.”

A somewhat bedraggled man is the first to speak up, "I am Shack...Doctor Shack....Doctor Love Shack in full and I will be patching you all back together if you fail to dodge arrows and parry blows. Frankly I find it all rather monotonous so the less I have to do the better for all involved. That said I hope you all know the better part of valor because I am no Croakamancer so I can't help a corpse." Love Shack then steps back to let the next hapless mercenary say his bit

Wildthwing's name Wildthwing. Wildthwing good at hitting things" Wildthwing then steps back as well sitting down cross-legged. Very pleased with himself for talking in front of a large group.

Name: Wild thwingStr: 4Int: 1 (-4)Dex: 3Spt: 2Trained: FightingFamiliar: Speed, ToughnessRace: TwollClass:WildTwollStory: Wildthwing the 111th twoll to be popped to the tribe of Notinspired, was also the last. It took three turns to pop a new one working on maximum efficiency. Wildthwing was sent to scout but didn't quite understand the come back bit. Two turns after he left Notinspired was wiped out by a force he saw on his second turn. He's been walking in a straight line since then foraging for upkeep. By sheer (dumb) luck he found himself in this hex.

("Love Shack" and "Wild Thing"? Seems like there's a song motif amongst the characters. I won't be the one to break it...)

A feeble cloaked figure shambles forward. The signamancy of many turns is upon him. "Hey now. Corrosion, I am known as. Hey now, now, Singthis Corrision is me, in truth, but in the heat of battle I respond best to simply 'Sing'. My side, once led by the dread sisters of Merci, is long vanished. As interesting as the Magic Kingdom can be, one must, from time to time, venture forth to see the world. Your lord said 'Do you hear me call?' and I responded. That sums it up; I got nothing to say I ain't said before."

Player Name: MarbitChowCharacter Name: Singthis CorrosionAttributes – Divide 10 points between the four attributes. Each attribute must be given between one and four points.STR 1INT 4DEX 1SPT 4

"Personally I'd have thought an elf to have better eyes" says a squat, plain-looking girl, drawing the eyes of crowd to her. "You already have a scout" she smiles a gap-toothed smile "though you may not have noticed, as I am not very forthcoming. Which is a commendable trait for a scout, no ? My name is Adreena and that is all you will know of me till I wish it further. I am quick to judge and slow to trust and my reasons for joining are my own " she stares at Belar as if defying him to have some sort of rebuke."But 200 schmuckers is enough to buy my vision and assessment for your quest provided I am not expected to lead the charge." gives a short humourless laugh " I'll leave that to our more unobservant stack members. Especially the ones who do not remember names" This observation seems to please her.

"Good, good. Getting better. Just a Warrior or two to complete this stack."

"My name's Jax, by the way. I work for Balen. I'll be in charge of transport for your stack, and a few others. Once the stack is complete, I'll arrange for you all to recieve your advance, then we'll head into Rossia."

Craven was popped by a tribe of wild marbits that lived off their ancestral land. When a nearby side decided that they wanted that land, Craven ran away from the battle instead of trying to fight a battle he thought could not be won. Since then. he has been surviving off whatever he could forage. He has often survived encounters with wild animals and enemy soldiers by using his small size, speed, agility, and dexterity to get out of reach of his foes thru various means. He saw this meeting while passing by and decided to join in.

When it is Craven's turn to talk, he merely stands up, states "My name is Craven", and sits back down.

Jax looks at the stack, then at a list in her hand. "Alright, you'll do. If I get some late arrivals, I'll add them into this stack. I'm designating you stack Seven. Head on up to Balen and collect your bounty and sign the muster book."

The stack moves up to where Balen is standing. He gives the group a quick glance, then looks over at Jax, who nods. "All set. A good group of tough nuts."

Balen raises an eyebrown, then gestures to a small desk with a Marbit clerk. "Sign up. You work for me now."As each of you sign the book, you are given a small bag of coins. 200 Schmuckers.

After taking the coin bag, the stack are lined up in front of a mid-level look-a-mancer, who examines each face carefully before moving on. When this is complete, he nods to Jax, who steps forward to speak.

"Good. You've signed up, and gotten your bounty. Time to move out. We don't want this whole thing to be very obvious, so we deploy from a variety of locations. Stacks 6, 7, and 8 are to meet me at the start of the next turn at the Docks in Rossia. That's three hexes North-East of here. Some of you have been there before, for others, you've never seen a city hex. Rossia is a free city, which means that any unit from any side, or indeed no side, can enter. Just don't try to get into the Garrison Zone - Larry King doesn't like that. There are markets, inns, training sites - all sorts of places. Enjoy yourselves, but be careful. Rossia is not always a safe place."

"I will meet you at the start of the turn at the Docks. Stick together. You are a stack now. There are bonuses to stacking."

Rossia is bustling level two city by a small inland sea. Surrounded with fields and light forests, it is dominated by the Garrison Tower, apparently the only part of the city to ever be upgraded. The city walls are rudimentary at best and theoretical at worst. Creatures of every kind have gathered here over the turns, and almost every side is represented - either by deserters or fugitives.

Your stack enters the city hex, and are immediately overwhelmed by choices. For example, a single schmucker will buy you:

1. A night in an Inn, with a dinner & breakfast.2. A ride on a wagon between villages.3. Any common item that took no more than one turn to make (i.e. a haversack, 30’ rope, knife, six candles, large wicker basket, a plain cloak, a copper cloak pin, a horse bridle, a woollen shirt, four arrows).4. Companionship for an hour.5. Stabling for your horse for a day & a night.6. An afternoon in a public bath house.7. A porter or labourer for half a day (note that porters charge for both ways if they have to travel away from their community)..8. A bribe to a City Guard for a minor matter.9. A pitcher of decent beer.10. A letter written for you by a scribe.

There are also shops of all kinds, with the most prominent being "Staeve's Armourisms"

You can also go to various establishments to improve your skills:500 Schmuckers improves an Attibute by +1100 Schmuckers improves a Skill's training level by +1200 Schmuckers allows a Caster to buy a new spell to add to his spellbook...

What would you like to do?(If you decided not to go to Rossia, that's an option as well)

Adreena will use the travel time to cut a deep notch in the base of her hunting spears such that they will fit an atatl (throwing stick) or perhaps even hold a mirror securely so that it can be poked round corners. She will be resistant to any questions about what she is doing telling the questioner to "Bide your time and use your eyes. In doing so you will learn much." She will also attempt to forage a suitable stick from the trail. If we have an overnight stop Adreena suggests a game of chance, she will make small wagers, never more than 2 schmuckers and will stop playing if she loses 20 schmuckers or wins 50 if anyone takes her up on the offer. Once in the city, dismayed at the cost of a crossbow she will try to persuade Wildthing to part with his crossbow offering a shield in exchange. ( she will pruchase a shield and the softest set of leather armour she can find.)

OOC LTDave, Did you exchange her shovel for a set of lockpicks ? Whird if you want to RP out the persuasion I've no objections. I'm not really wanting to force you into a die roll on a weak skill.

My Craft and Knowledge seem to be equal though I had Craft as trained and Knowledge/Persuasion as Familiar <_<

look at other peoples choices Adreena's stealth is higher than her perception or shooting even though she had her shooting as trained. Her perception and stealth were both familiar but generated different results (6 & 9 respectively). I suspect it is a function of stats and profession, possibly race too.

I can't tell much about the relations between skills and stats/profession/race, but I do not believe we have accomplished proper minmaxing. At least we can ask the caster about anything.

"Meet at the start of the turn" means we probably do have to spend the night in the city. A city in which we can bribe guards for just one schmucker. We should probably pay for a night in a good inn if we don't want to be robbed blind. We might also want to use the chance to gain some money on the side.

As Craven walks towards the city with the others, he takes the opportunity to practice pole-vaulting.

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